At Larchmont Steakhouse, Dine Beside Your Own Active Volcano

Part of the Fuji Mountain Japanese steakhouse experience is that you're in on the secret.

The façade on the Boston Post Road restaurant is understated, with a serene outdoor koi pond. The sign down by the corner is easy to miss. Step inside, though, and enter a focused, lively interior of spatula-twirling chefs and sounds of sizzling food, gongs, and a chorus of happy customers.

It's family-friendly, fine dining and entertainment from owner Karl Shao.

Light-hearted 90s music plays in a setting where walls are ocean blue, a reminder that the restaurant is also known for its seafood. Japanese geisha scenes dot the wall, but the centerpiece is the Mount Fuji glass etching.

The main décor is the dining room's 12 large hibachi grills, plus two larger in the back for groups. In an intimate-feeling space that seats 143, the lighting is low, a little brighter in the sushi bar to the left of the entrance, and the bar to the right.

Shao and his family left Canton, China, in 1987 when he was 11 and moved to New York City's Chinatown. After school he worked at a garment factory alongside his parents until 9 at night. At 15, hearing about the success of Benihana Japanese steakhouses, he moved into a Benihana dormitory on Long Island, and learned the trade, moving up to hibachi chef, and staying two-and-a-half years.

This is the cooking art form called teppanyaki: teppan means "steel grill" and yaki means "stir-frying." Shao then worked at other hibachi restaurants. 

He opened Fuji Mountain in Fairfield, Conn., in 1995, naming it for the highest mountain in Japan, and for his goals. He opened in Larchmont in 1999.

Shao, who lives in Queens with his wife and two children, said, "My dream is always very simple.  All I want is for my customers and every family to have the three things that are hibachi—sitting around a warm grill, with delicious food and drinks, and having fun. What's better than that?"

Culinary journey up Fuji Mountain begins

We're shown to a large sleek grill where a family of three joins us. We order one duet of filet mignon and chicken (6 ounces each, $25), and one Chilean seabass (8 ounces, $24), that come with a full meal. (A children's chicken order, nearly the same size as an adult's, is $11.)

We're served clear soup with mushrooms, and a green salad with creamy ginger dressing. We order edamame ($4), and receive a large serving nicely prepared—just tender enough to savor a buttery flavor.

Our chef, Bill, arrives in whites and red chef hat and begins the show: spatula twirling, balancing and flipping eggs in the air and into his hat. Next, the signature move and ice-breaker, in homage of Mount Fuji, an active volcano: circles of onions are shaped into a pyramid, filled with vegetable oil and lighted, making a two-foot flame, causing gasps and instant bonding.

Nearby, four employees appear with a gong and candled slice of cake, and sing happy birthday. Joe, the manager, tells me the amount Happy Birthdays he sings every night: Friday and Saturday, about 30; Sunday, 20; Monday through Thursday, 15. "I'm a professional now," he says, straight-faced.

On the grill, our chef lays out vegetables and the meats and seafood orders. He adds a mound of noodles and serves us, adding two shrimp to every plate, which are full. Next is stir-fried rice ($2.75 extra over plain white rice).  He shapes it into a large heart, under which he slides the spatula and "pumps" it to mimic heartbeat.

"Everything OK?" asks Bill. My companion pronounces his filet mignon medium-rare, just as he ordered. His chicken? "Tender. Tasty!" My seabass is cooked through, as I asked, yet juicy. Conversation stops, replaced with happy sighs and nods.  The amount of food on my plate is so vast that I ask to have some wrapped to take home.

A refreshing raft of sliced pineapple arrives for dessert. But we're on expedition, so a la carte we order the popular fried ice cream, the ice cream sumptuously cold inside its pie-like crust ($5).

Two small drink glasses appear-- "a gift," says the hostess. It's the house specialty, "Bitter Honey"—butterscotch schnapps topped with Bailey's Irish cream. ($3). Shao, who recognized us, says he takes care of his regulars with other menu  offerings as well.

The generosity of the portions, the high quality of the ingredients, and the ability to have full meal at a reasonable price, makes this a return destination. Especially when, birthday or not, caring service and a gift from the house ("If we forget, please ask," says Shao, conscientiously) makes it feel like one.

Fuji Mountain, 2375 Boston Post Road, Larchmont, N.Y. Open: Sunday thru Thursday, 4:30 p.m.-10:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 4 p.m. -11:30 p.m.

Children's hibachi menu starts at $11. Party menu for 10 or more people, hibachi menu starts at $20. Sushi starts at $5 for a tuna roll, to  sushi platters that start at $19. Take out. Master Card, Visa, American Express, Discover. Casual dress. Reservations suggested. Phone: 914-833-3838 and 914-833-8838.